ST. VALENTINE (FEB. 14TH)

 

The Icon of St. Valentine
from Uncut Mountain Church Supply

By Bp. Joseph Boyd

The ancient hagiographies describes Saint Valentine as the bishop of Terni, a town in central Italy. While under arrest for his preaching by a Roman Judge named Asterius and being held in prison, the old man discussed his faith with the Judge. Being convinced of the ethical superiority of Christianity, the Judge decided to put Valentine to the test, and brought to him his blind daughter to heal. If Valentine succeeded in healing his daughter’s eyes by the power of Jesus Christ, the Judge said that he would convert to Christianity. Valentine prayed with hands outstretched to heaven, and laying them on the girls eyes, her eyes were immediately healed. 

The Judge asked Valentine for baptism, and the aged saint instructed that the Judge should break all of his household gods, confess all of his sins, and fast for three days. At the end of this period of preparation, Valentine baptized the Judge and his whole household. Seeing that all of his slaves were now brothers and sisters in Christ, the Judge was moved to set them free. The Judge, his family, his household and his slaves numbered over forty people, they formed a church in their house, and they all devoted themselves to God and the service of the Gospel.

St. Valentine Officiating the Sacrament of Marriage 
Between a Christian Man and a Christian Woman in Ancient Rome

Later, freed by Asterius the Judge, St. Valentine continued his ministry in Rome, where the Emperor Claudius had forbidden the marriage of Christians in an effort to keep Christianity from spreading and to prohibit Christian households from forming. St. Valentine married Christian couples in secret, and the news of his disobedience was discovered by members of the Emperor’s court. He was caught and dragged before Claudius, who commanded him to recant his faith. Taking a liking to the joyful old man who treated everyone around him with kindness and consideration, the Emperor begged him personally to recant and live out his days as a ward of the State. 

St. Valentine, in turn, exhorted the Emperor to believe on Christ and be baptized, telling him that all the pleasures of the world were nothing compared to the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. The old man beamed with so much love and care, that the Emperor was almost persuaded. Angered by St. Valentine’s insubordination and fearful of the effect that the old man had upon those in the court who heard him preach, Claudius ordered the saint to be beheaded. The Praetorian Guard took him outside to the Flaminian Gate, and there decapitated the holy martyr. It was said that a beggar girl was cured of blindness even as the saint’s head was taken by the soldiers. 

Since then, the date of his death, February 14, 269AD, has been commemorated as St. Valentine’s Day, a day to remember the sanctity of Christian Marriage, and a day to remember the works of God through the life of this blessed and saintly believer of Jesus Christ. 

Collect for St. Valentine

ALMIGHTY GOD, Who gavest Saint Valentine the courage to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the holiness of Christian Marriage, even unto death by the sword. Help us also to endure all life's suffering for love of Thee, and to seek Thee with all our hearts; for Thou alone are the source of life and love. Grant that we may have the courage and love to be strong witnesses of Thy truth to the whole world, like Thy blessed friend, Saint Valentine. We pray this through Thy Son, Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen. 

May Christ hear the prayers of St. Valentine for us before His throne!

The Wonderworking Relics of Saint Valentine in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome